


Follow The Mome Raths

by allstoriesintheend



Series: In The Golden Afternoon [6]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (TV)
Genre: Children, First Meeting, Wonderland
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-22
Updated: 2015-01-22
Packaged: 2018-03-08 16:13:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3215411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allstoriesintheend/pseuds/allstoriesintheend
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What was that strange sound that the little Hatter could hear?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Follow The Mome Raths

There it was again. That strange humming sound that he had heard for the past three days. Three days, and try as he might, he had never been able to find the source. It certainly wasn’t a sound that was coming from the Hare or the Dormouse, or even from Cheshire. No, this sound was unique. It hummed a tune that the boy had found stuck in his head, which made him all the more desperate to find where it was coming from. 

He had asked the Flowers if it was coming from their Gardens, but they had giggled at him and told him the sound was most definitely not from any sort of flower. He had asked the Tweedles, who only dissolved into rhymes instead of answering his questions. So, on this third day, he took the question to Absolem. Surely he would know where the sound was coming from. After all, he knew everything. Unfortunately, knowing everything did not make him the most cooperative of beings. When he was asked the question, the Caterpillar told the boy that he would find where the sound was coming from if he followed the Mome Raths. 

Followed the Mome Raths. Why, it was a simple task, was it not? They were easy enough to find if one knew where to look. Thanking Absolem, the boy set off back to Tulgey Wood to find the creatures that ran so fast they became blurs of colour. It was a game he had often played with them, and one that they exceeded in. Try as he might, he could never quite catch a Mome Rath, but today he found that he didn’t need to. He could follow them and they would lead him exactly where he wanted to go. 

The first blur of colour that caught his eye was blue. His footsteps were heavy on the ground as he chased the lone creature, grinning at the thought of finally knowing the answer to his first question. The Mome Rath ran and ran, weaving around the trees and bushes, and the boy didn’t realise that he had even chased the Mome Rath back out of the forest until the dirt beneath his feet changed into soft, long grass, and the tuft of blue disappeared beneath the bright green colour of the Meadow. Lost it. He had lost his only chance to find his answer. He collapsed down in the grass, letting the hat that was far too large for him topple off of his head. 

Humming broke the sound of his own heavy breathing. Could it be…? Suddenly the boy was sitting up straight, little hands reaching for his hat to cover his unruly dark hair. Absolem was right. The Mome Rath had led him exactly where he wanted to be. His stomach turned and excitement began to run through him as he rose, listening to the hum to find the right direction. This way? No, that made it quieter. That way? Yes. This was the way. His footsteps grew quieter as the humming grew louder and there, where the grass became short and the daisies sat in little circles, did he find what he was looking for.

A little girl.


End file.
